Bridgewater man who caught, choked burglar is not charged in fight

Google MapsMap view of Oak Street in Bridgewater, where police say a man attacked two teens after they burglarized his car.

BRIDGEWATER — A car burglary victim has not been charged for a July 31 fight that left a teenage thief bedridden, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Authorities said the 42-year-old Bridgewater man, who was not named by police, pursued and attacked two 18-year-old men from the township, Doughlas Uhler and Brian Johnston, after they burglarized his car around 3:40 a.m. at his Oak Street home.

A Somerset County grand jury indicted the teens today on third-degree burglary charges.

Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said the victim chased the teens from his home to Linden Street, where he knocked Johnston to the ground.

Uhler then ran out from nearby bushes and jumped on the victim, who quickly grabbed the teen in a submission hold. A lack of oxygen to Uhler’s head caused the teen’s brain injury, authorities said.

Soriano said Uhler was treated at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center and was later released.